Eggplant Marinara Recipe

This is a healthier version of eggplant Parmesan, but just as tasty. I used a limited amount of cheese in this dish, and filled grilled eggplant with white beans. The white beans have a soft texture and add a bunch of protein to the dish, making it a viable main course option for vegetarians.

I still had a leftover jar of marinara sauce from last summer and the sauce tasted amazingly good. Everyone loved this dish and the best part is that no one felt guilty having the decadent dessert I made afterwards!

Directions

Cooking the eggplant:

Trim and thinly slice the eggplants lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit, then pat dry with paper towels. Brush a 7-quart non-stick Dutch oven with oil. Add the eggplant slices and cook on both sides for 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let cool.

For the marinara sauce: In the same oil from the eggplants (or add another tablespoon if necessary), add the onions and cook for 8 minutes over low heat. Reserve 3 tablespoons on a plate and add the marinara sauce to the remaining onions. Cover with a lid and let cook for 15 minutes over low heat.

Preparing the filling:

Cut the slices of bread into cubes. Place in a food processor and turn into crumbs. Transfer to a bowl.

Lightly oil the bowl of the food processor with a silicone brush. Add the reserved onions, cumin, grated garlic, oregano and white beans. Coarsely blend until a thick paste is formed (it's okay if there are still whole beans at the top of the food processor). Season with salt and pepper. Add 4 tablespoons parsley and pulse 3-4 times. Transfer the paste into a bowl.

In a bowl, lightly beat the egg with white pepper. Add the egg to the bean mixture.

Assembly time:

Using a tablespoon, place a heaping spoonful of the bean filling on one end of a eggplant slice and tightly roll up it. Repeat with remaining slices of eggplant.

Remove the lid from the marinara sauce and place the eggplant rolls into the Dutch oven, seam side down, so they're secure. Cover again and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.

When ready to serve, sprinkle with the cheese and the remaining parsley. Turn off the heat and cover until the cheese is melted.

Serve with linguine pasta on the side.

Bon appétit!

Tips

Back in the summer, I stored a lot of our fresh tomatoes made into Sauvignon blanc-flavored marinara sauce. Delicious!

This eggplant dish is fairly healthy (it has only 2 tablespoons of cheeses) and is very nutritious (packed with protein). If you're more interested in the original recipe (ricotta filled eggplant rolls), check out this version of eggplant.